Modern-Day Elijahs I: The Person God Calls

In a chapter title in his classic book, Why Revival Tarries, Leonard Ravenhill asked, “Where are the Elijahs of God?” The question is a slight twist on the prophet Elisha’s question, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” (2 Kings 2:14). Ravenhill observed that, although God has not changed and is still on the throne, the church fails to have a powerful impact because there are few godly men of Elijah’s character:

To the question, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” we answer, “Where He has always been‒on the throne!” But where are the Elijahs of God? We know Elijah was “a man of like passions as we are,” but alas! we are not men of like prayer as he was. One praying man stands as a majority with God! Today God is bypassing men‒not because they are too ignorant, but because they are too self-sufficient. Brethren, our abilities are our handicaps, and our talents our stumbling blocks!

Ravenhill’s question is probably more relevant now than it was in 1959, when he first posed it. God raised up Elijah at a time when Israel had drifted far from Him‒so far that it could no longer be recognized as a nation in covenant with Him. It was a nation under godless rule.

As I write this post, it has been about two months since the United States Supreme Court ruled that homosexual marriage should be allowed throughout the nation. A county clerk, who is a Christian, is in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples with her name on them. Freedom of religion, which is guaranteed by our Constitution, has been trashed in favor of a man-made right to sin. Thousands of babies continue to be slaughtered in the womb, and now we find that their body parts are sold for medical research.

Over the next few weeks, I will share a series of articles based on a Bible study series I taught when I was serving as assistant pastor. The series, inspired in part by Ravenhill’s insight, was entitled “Modern-Day Elijahs,” and was intended to challenge believers to emulate the life of Elijah. We need such men and women in 2015.

Let us begin with a brief introduction to the man, his times, and his ministry. Elijah first appears in 1 Kings 17:1:

Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

The name Elijah means “Yahweh is my God,” pointing to his complete devotion to the one true God of Israel. He lived in troubled times. Ahab was ruling as king over the northern kingdom of Israel. The previous king, Ahab’s father Omri, was an evil man who “acted more wickedly than all {the kings} who were before him” (1 Kings 16:25). It is interesting that, beginning with Omri’s reign, the northern kingdom was less frequently referred to as “Israel” and more often referred to by other names. In secular sources from those times, the nation is often called the house or land of Omri, instead of Israel.

Ahab was not much better. According to 1 Kings 16:29-31, he started by following in his father’s footsteps. Then, things became worse after his wedding. His wife Jezebel, a daughter of the king of Sidon and worshipper of the false god Baal, brought massive change to Israel. She established Baal-worship as the state religion, appointed prophets and priests to serve her deity, and executed as many prophets of Yahweh as she could (only Elijah and a few who had been hidden and protected in caves survived her reign of terror).

Elijah rises up in these dark days. The Bible tells us little about his background: It tells us he is a settler of Gilead, which was a region populated by members of three Israelite tribes: Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. We do not know if he was a member of any of these three tribes: while the word “Tishbite” may refer to his ancestral clan or his hometown, some scholars suggest it may mean “stranger.” If that is the case, Elijah could have been a non-Israelite who had converted to faith in Yahweh.

However, none of this is certain. Scripture is not too concerned about Elijah’s background or ancestry. It is concerned about his zealous faith in God. As Ravenhill said, “One praying man stands as a majority with God,” and Elijah was that one man! Because he knew the one true God and had spent time with him, he could say with certainty that he would say when it would rain. Even though Baal may have been viewed as a nature deity who controlled the rain and agriculture, Elijah would be so bold as to say he knew when the one true God would act.

Such are the people who God is looking for in America in 2015. He is looking for men who will stand before Him, not bowing to the false gods of American culture. Although Baal worshippers may have bowed before idols made of wood, gold, or silver, Americans often bow before other gods: our political elite, money, economic power-brokers, entertainers and other celebrities, false religions (atheism, New Age, watered-down versions of Christianity), media, etc. God is looking for committed believers who will stand before Him in prayer, instead of kneeling to our culture’s false gods for brainwashing.

The man who stands before God can stand against anything that the flesh, the world, or the devil may throw at him. We will see how God provides for and protects those who answer His call in our next study.